Saskatchewan’s big game draw starts on May 1.
The 2017 online draw for Saskatchewan residents will include hunting licences for elk, moose, pronghorn antelope, either-sex mule deer and antlerless mule deer.
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Officials said the draw is a transparent and equitable way to issue the limited number of licences that are available.
“The number of hunters applying for Saskatchewan’s most favourable hunting opportunities has increased significantly over the last number of years,” Environment Minister Scott Moe said in a release.
“I encourage all hunters to apply early and wish all applicants good luck in this year’s draw.”
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Applying early will prevent system outages and ensure applications are received prior to the deadline of midnight on May 25, 2017, according to officials with the Ministry of Environment.
Over 92,000 applications were made in 2016, with over 11,000 applications received on the final day.
The draw will be administered though the province’s HAL system, and the big game draw results will be available through HAL accounts in mid-June, with the exception of the pronghorn antelope draw, which will be available in mid-July.
The province has maintained moose quotas at the same elevated levels as last year, and a proposal is in place to expand the pronghorn draw to include much of their core range in southwest Saskatchewan.
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A complete quota list for all big game in each management zone, along with licensing fees, follows at the end of this article.
The ministry also announced a review of the big game draw priority pool structure will take place due to the increase in the number of applications.
Ministry officials will work with various stakeholder groups to review options for future draws.